December 8th, 2004 is a date that will be remembered by pretty much everyone in the world of metal. Sure, people die all the time. There have been some sad cases over the last year or so alone. But none could be as shocking as Dime’s murder – live on stage, and right in front of his brother.

I won’t name the perpetrator. He doesn’t deserve the recognition.

But that night he took away one of the liveliest guys the metal world has ever known. I am lucky enough to say that I met a very drunk Dimebag after an aborted gig at Newcastle City Hall many years ago. He was – as were the rest of the band – just a great laugh. None of this “high and mighty, I’m in a band” crap. This was a guy who was living life for the hell of it.

You often hear that a musician would be happy if he died on stage doing what he loved.

But not like that.

RIP Dimebag. Your memory and your music lives on.

[Please tweet the hashtag #DimeRIP if you’re on Twitter – let’s make it trend to mark the day]